Missed Encounters
by boffinness
Summary: Human/Hospital AU. DenNor? Suddenly everyone is in the hospital, but for different reasons. And as fate should have it, everybody seems to meet at bad times... or not at all. I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'It's so beautiful...' Bjørn Thomassen looked up above him to try and locate the piano currently being played on the next level. It wasn't a specific song, there were bits and pieces of some songs he could recognize from the radio, and some parts Bjørn would think were improvised. Nonetheless, he enjoyed the music that cut through the not-so-peaceful quiet, with the dinging of the elevators, and the television across the room, and the kids and parents mulling about the cafeteria floor.

He had finished his coffee a while ago, for now Bjørn was just taking a breather; knowing that his younger brother was probably still napping and his parents had gone out to most likely run some errands while they were still in the city, all he could do was wait.

Suddenly he could recognize a few of these songs - although this version was a bit slower, Bjørn could still tell it was The Entertainer. A couple times he could tell the pianist wasn't as familiar with this song, but he silently urged the person on with encouragement as he looked up.

Suddenly the music stopped, and changed to something sadder. It wasn't something that should be played in a hospital, but it was nice.

That was it. Bjørn stood up and pushed his chair in. Grabbing his empty coffee cup, he threw it out as he walked past the elevators. There were a handful of people waiting for the next one to come down to the basement level. The two elevators that worked went up and down, and then back up and then back down, day and night, carrying patients, doctors, and people alike; the other elevator needed a repairman, stat.

The blonde decided to use the stairs instead of the elevators, especially since the wheelchairs and strollers should have first priority over him. When Bjørn made it to the stairs, through the throngs of people waiting in line at the various eating establishments, the piano's tune got louder and then suddenly... stopped.

Strange.

He made his way up the small steps nonchalantly, his feet shuffling on the somewhat slippery tiles.

Maybe the mystery pianist had grown bored of playing.

But he had to meet them. Or even just a glance.

The man looked to where the piano should be as soon as his eyesight cleared the floor, but.

There was no one there.

Damn.

Bjørn stopped at the top of the stairs, standing there with a confused look on his face while quickly darting his gaze here and there, looking for the mystery pianist. How the hell was there nobody there?

He sighed, putting his hand to his forehead in exhaustion. Whatever, it doesn't really matter; Bjørn tried to talk himself out of it. He was starting to get a headache. It really didn't matter, he was just being over dramatic about it.

'I should probably go check in on Emil anyways...'

And with that, he found himself going down the hallway, to get to the flight of stairs leading up. God forbid the different flights of stairs should all be in the same general area of the hospital.

'Darnit, why can I never get this part right?'

The long, elegant fingers soon caught up to the beat, but then again forgot what they were doing.

He sighed. He decided to switch it up a bit.

The doctor knew this might not be the best choice for a hospital, however nobody was listening to care.

Well technically he wasn't a doctor. He was only learning right now. But it didn't really matter. He was still helping people, and that's all he cared about.

As he drifted between his own thoughts, his quick and nimble digits effortlessly danced across the piano. He had played Beethoven - more specifically his Moonlight Sonata - so many times he needn't pay attention anymore.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he jumped when he heard a shrill noise - an alarm of some sort - go off. His pager. The blonde quickly and quietly stood up, having stopped playing when he snapped out of his daydreams, and pushed in the bench stool for the piano.

Making sure he grabbed his coat, he dashed towards the elevators and pushed the button to go up. Fortunately the man didn't have to wait long, although it was a bit crowded from doctors and a patient in a wheelchair returning to their regular areas. He moved behind the chair, towards the back of the elevator where he could see out the glass walls. As the doors closed and they were lifted to the levels above, Mathias noticed a man on the stairs. He looked quite frantic, and he seemed to be looking for someone, or something.

'Strange... but aren't we all?'

Mathias lightly smiled down at him before his pager went off again, with a more urgent-sounding shrill this time. He decided to check it.

'ROOM 308: EMIL THOMASSEN'


	2. Chapter 2

Missed Encounters

Chapter 2

He nervously waited for the doors to open to the third level, so he could make his way to the prep station.

Mathias heard the 'ding' and scooted around the other passengers of the small portable room, to quickly make his way to get the facts.

"Dr. Køhler, they're waiting for you already. The boy's white blood level count increased dramatically over the past half hour. They think the spleen's ruptured."

"Damn! I thought he had stabled out?" He quickly washed his hands as he was informed of what he missed.

"They thought so too. Unfortunately his mono's gotten worse while you were gone, and..."

The Danish man didn't want to hear the bad news, but he would much rather rip the band aid off now, so to speak. He put on his mask and gloves while he waited for the nurse to finish her sentence. But she hesitated.

"...And?"

The brunette sighed. "... His family isn't here right now."

The tall Dane paused from prepping to look at the nurse. "We're still going through with the surgery though, right?"

"Of course! We've contacted the parents and they're on their way, but they said his brother's here already." She helped Mathias put on his surgeon's gown. "The one time he leaves his little brother's side is the one time he truly needs him... Isn't irony wonderful?"

He hummed in agreement to the sarcasm.

"Alright... let's just get this over with." Mathias opened the door to the surgery room and faced this predicament head-on, hoping that the procedure would turn out a success, for the sake of the child and the sake of his family.


	3. Chapter 3

Missed Encounters

Chapter 3

It was a routine procedure. All they had to do was stitch the spleen. After all, it really couldn't be too bad, it had only ruptured recently, and from mono at that.

However they couldn't stitch it.

Mathias suddenly didn't know what to do. They just had to stitch it but... the wound was too big... they couldn't do it. He looked up to the others, wondering if all hope was lost.

The lady beside him noticed the panicked look on his face. "Calm down, we just have to take it out then."

Right. Matthias took a deep breath and sighed in relief. After all this training, he was still worrying about what his coworkers would do. This was exactly why he was being trained. He had to learn how to trust the other's decisions.

The man at the front of the table laughed quite heartily. "I thought you were just about to have a heart attack with that look you had on your face! Don't worry Dr. Køhler, we know what we're doing." The older man looked down at the young boy resting on the table, with a more contemplative expression. "As much as it pains me to even think about removing a spleen from a boy this young... Well, it can't really be helped, can it?"

The room's energy died at bit at, "Alright, someone get me a scalpel."

And at that, a nurse passed him the sharp instrument, and they set to work removing the battered and bloodied organ.


End file.
